Homeland Season 3 Shocker: Diego Klattenhoff Not Returning as Series Regular

Homeland doesn't return for its third season until September, but it's already making headlines.

Diego Klattenhoff, who plays Mike on Showtime's hit drama, will not be returning as a series regular in season three, TVLine reports. Showtime declined to comment.

When we chatted with Klattenhoff at the Golden Globes last weekend, he admitted that he was in the dark about his character's season three presence. "It's kind of under lock and key. The writers are meeting right now and everybody's back. They have a couple of options."

Given the events of the season two finale, which saw the end of Jessica (Morena Baccarin) and Brody's (Damian Lewis) marriage, this news shouldn't come as that big of a surprise to fans. Of course, Klattenhoff is still available to recur on the beloved drama, so what would he like to see for Mike when the show returns in September? "Maybe Mike helps out Brody or helps out Carrie, maybe finds himself with Jessica a little bit more," he told us.

We can tell you that you probably haven't seen the last of Rupert Friend as Peter Quinn. "I think Rupert will definitely be back," executive producer Alex Gansa told us at the Golden Globes, where he later accepted the award for Best TV Drama. "Whether that means he's replacing Damian [Lewis], I don't think so, but he was good!"

Of course, Brody went on the run in the season two finale, so even how much of a presence Lewis will have in the third season is anyone's guess, but Gansa told us it would be "hard to lose that chemistry" between Lewis and Claire Danes. When asked about his future on the show, Showtime president David Nevins said, "How fun would it be if I gave you any of those spoilers?" However, Nevins did say he would give the Homeland team the OK should Lewis' exit make sense for the story. "I would have to. Everything on that show is vigorously debated, but if that's what made sense story-wise, I could conceivably say yes to that."